The Maverick Tribe

You hear a lot about Obama being an embodiment of "change", but something clicked in me this morning that brought it home in a small way.

I was reading an AP article about how Obama was in the midst of staffing his White House, and the piece went on to say that he was "working to build a diverse Cabinet".  An unexceptional goal, until you realize the article was talking about ideological diversity:  "That includes reaching out to Republicans and independents — part of the broad coalition that supported Obama during the race against Republican John McCain. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been mentioned as a possible holdover."

Could it be that Obama's Cabinet will not be careful calibrated to a politically correct mix of race and gender?  Could it be the first Cabinet in a generation driven first and foremost by meritocracy?  Could it be that President Obama will strike a mortal blow to identity politics?

Change we sure would like to believe in.